Jerusalem

This is due to the current situation where Israel is in a state of war since the attacks conducted against it by the Palestinian group, Hamas, on 7 October 2023.

Two officers of the Department of Foreign Affairs who were assigned to set up the Embassy following its opening in September this year, departed Israel on 17 October 2023, in view of the security concerns there.

Prime Minister Marape formally opened PNG’s embassy in Jerusalem, making PNG one of just five countries in the world to do so.

Almost all foreign embassies are in Tel Aviv, apart from the US, Honduras, Kosovo and Guatemala.

Lelang said Jerusalem is a disputed territory between Palestine and Israel and opening an embassy there may "not be a wise move".

“While we recognize that the government of the day has the authority to open our foreign mission there, there is a reason why the rest of the world have decided not to move their embassies from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.”

The vote was taken during an emergency meeting which was held on Thursday (21/12/2017) at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

The vote came after threats by the US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, who said Washington would remember which countries “disrespected” America by voting against it.

“The United States will remember this day in which it was singled out for attack in the general assembly for the very act of exercising our right as a sovereign nation.

The text says that any decisions regarding the status of the city are "null and void" and must be cancelled.

The non-binding resolution was approved by 128 states, with 35 abstaining and nine others including Nauru voting against.

It came after US President Donald Trump threatened to cut financial aid to those who backed the resolution.

How did UN members vote?

There, at the Apostolic Palace, Trump met with Pope Francis -- finally.

It's a meeting millions have been waiting for, an encounter between two of the world's most intriguing and complex characters: The holy man in white who preaches good news to the poor and the brash businessman in the dark suit who embodies American extravagance.

Paramedics rushed the victim to the hospital, authorities said, but she died shortly after arriving.

The renovation in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre aims to reinforce and conserve the structure.

Rivalry between the three denominations that run the church has delayed work.

But clerics from the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Armenian churches have put aside their differences, recognising the need to begin repairs.

The work will focus on the Edicule, the ancient chamber housing Jesus's tomb which Christians say stands above the spot where Jesus's body was anointed, wrapped in cloth and buried.

And Israeli policemen were injured by firebombs.

In a rare decision, Israeli leaders called up a few hundred border police reservists to beef up security as tensions rise over Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site. One Israeli civilian has been killed in the violence since Sunday.

The violence killed one Israeli and left several others injured this week.

Tzachi Hanegbi, chairman of Parliament's foreign affairs and defense committee which made the decision in a "special discussion" on Friday, said the additional forces "will help in returning order quickly" to Jerusalem.

There were minor protests on Friday in Jerusalem and in Hebron in the West Bank but on a much smaller scale than in recent days.